With late pick-ups, missed appointments and inexperienced drivers, some users of specialized buses in Fort McMurray, Alta., say a change to the transit system has caused a lot of headaches.

Next week, council members of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo will be asked to consider those concerns when they receive a petition signed by more than 350 people.

In August, the municipality implemented its transit master plan, which included merging its On Demand and SMART bus systems. The SMART system, now called Specialized Transit, picked people up at home and dropped them off at their destination. 

Now that service still happens, but on buses that are also used by people without mobility issues.

“I did complain many times,” said Bhavin Gajjar, an electric wheelchair user and longtime user of the former SMART bus system.

“It was really frustrating,” said Gajjar, who used the service until late November when he took an extended trip to India. “Many times I avoid to go out.” 

The goal of the merger was to minimize the number of buses driving around empty, while increasing the number of hours that specialized busing was available.

Gajjar, who is dependent on the bus system, said he experienced a gamut of problems since the change, but the main one is driver training. 

Gajjar said SMART bus drivers were practiced in helping wheelchair users. Since the merger, he said he has come across new drivers who don’t know how to strap his wheelchair onto the bus and has had to show them how to do it.

Mark Gasior, the municipality’s manager of transportation and fleet, said that prior to the merger, there were only seven specialized transit operators.

“They knew what to do because it was a very small group that got to know all the riders. They got to know all the nuances of their mobility devices,” Gasior said. 

Gasior said it will take a bit of time until all the drivers are familiar with the different wheelchairs. 

On March 10, the municipality’s council will receive the petition, which was started by Koryn Dyer, president of Voice of Albertans with Disabilities. The 366 signatories want a review of the transit system and Dyer wants the SMART bus program reactivated.

Gasior will be presenting at the meeting. He said he’d like to see the system continue as is. He said it’s important to give the program “some time to continue to work through some of the kinks that have come up.”

When the transition first happened, Gasior heard a lot of feedback about riders missing appointments.

In August, drop-offs were on time about 65 to 70 per cent of the time but that has since improved to 80 to 90 per cent of the time, Gasior said.

“We’re hearing those issues and we’re working to try and correct them,” Gasior said. 

Gajjar said on one occasion a driver complained about working with wheelchair users. He sent in a complaint, but continued to see that driver. 

“It’s so much stressful,” said Gajjar, who stayed home for 15 days following the ordeal. 

Since the new program has been in place, there’s been a 41 per cent increase in ridership from January 2025 to 2026, Gasior said. 

“We’re really pleased to see that,” Gasior said. 

Ridership on the specialized buses is low, with 13 trips a day on the weekend, peaking on Wednesdays with 125 trips, Gasior said. Merging the systems means they can offer those users longer busing hours and more frequent trips.

“I feel that we are offering an enhanced level of service,” Gasior said, noting the new system has the buses available every 15 minutes during peak hours for people with disabilities instead of every half hour.